Muhyiddin-Mahathir clash shows cracks in ‘Malay unity’ push, says analyst

Mazlan Ali says that the public fallout weakens Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s bid to rally Malay parties under one banner ahead of the next general election.

Muhyiddin Yassin has denied allegations in a widely shared video where Dr Mahathir Mohamad appears to accuse him of misappropriating party funds, keeping the money at his home, and seeking the top post to avoid imprisonment.

PETALING JAYA:

 An analyst has described the opposition’s “Malay unity” narrative as more rhetoric than reality, saying the latest clash between Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the alleged misappropriation of party funds has exposed deep fault lines in the agenda.

Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said the public fallout showed that key Malay political figures were unable to work together, despite Mahathir’s push for a so-called “big Malay umbrella”.

“If Mahathir fails (to end this tiff) and remains in conflict with Muhyiddin, other Malay parties will not be keen on the unity plan because they see (both leaders) as top Malay leaders who can’t get along themselves (in the first place),” he told FMT.

Mazlan also criticised Mahathir’s version of “Malay unity” for excluding Malays aligned with Umno, PKR and Amanah.

“A Malay unity agenda needs to include everyone, not just certain parties. Now it looks like window dressing to fulfil the needs of certain parties,” he said.

Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan questioned the timing of the dispute, saying Perikatan Nasional (PN) was entering a critical phase with the 16th general election less than two years away.

He warned that the dispute could confuse Malay voters as Mahathir was using Muhyiddin’s PN as a vehicle to push his “Malay unity” message.

“This is due to the fact that Malays who support Mahathir, by extension, also support PN,” he added.

The analysts were commenting on a call by Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz for a closed-door meeting between Muhyiddin and Mahathir to resolve the dispute.

A short video clip was widely shared online in which Mahathir appeared to accuse Muhyiddin of stealing party funds and keeping the money at his home, as well as seeking the prime minister’s post to avoid being imprisoned.

Mahathir and Muhyiddin fell out after the Sheraton Move in 2020, which led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government and saw the latter emerge as prime minister. However, the two former leaders have had more cordial relations recently, with Muhyiddin deferring to Mahathir.

Should PAS intervene?

Mazlan said PAS could play a mediating role due to its strong influence among Malay voters.

“I think that PAS is in a convincing position to play a peacemaker role here,” he said.

However, Azmi was sceptical, saying PAS might struggle to remain neutral given that the dispute extended to PN itself.

“I doubt that PAS can be a very effective peacemaker in this case,” he said. - FMT